Escape Mechanism
by cerieblue819
Summary: Midna laughs to escape the realities of her life. One shot with Midna and Zelda before Midna finds Link in Twilight Princess.


It was an escape mechanism. Midna was perfectly aware that nothing, especially not a creature of the Twilight like she was, laughed as much as she did. Most people (and things, since she was technically a thing at the moment), came down from their highs and hit lows, then came back up and hit a plateau and then might go back up or down again. Not Midna. She pretty much stuck with maniacally high and laughing because otherwise…well.

She'd end up like Zelda. Midna had been to see Zelda a handful of times and every time she visited with the deposed princess of Hyrule she'd seemed more and more down. Midna had the sense that Zelda wasn't exactly a cheerful woman to begin with but being trapped inside the Twilight Realm was apparently taking a toll on her. Midna couldn't see why: it was so gorgeous in the Twilight! The light in Hyrule proper would drive her crazy after a while if she didn't have the cool Twilight to look forward to.

"Why so gloomy?" she asked, giggling and floating just behind Zelda's head. The blonde princess swatted at her half-heartedly and Midna giggled again, changing positions. Zelda flashed her yet another annoyed look and Midna felt a warm feeling of self-satisfaction wash over her. It was good to see the princess exhibiting _some_ sort of emotion since the stoic thing had gotten old weeks before.

"I am not in the mood, Midna," she said coolly, staring out the window as if magically the mists of the Twilight would melt away into Hyrule proper and she could go out and rule her kingdom as if Zant had never arrived. At least, that's what Midna figured she was thinking about: Zelda was too boring to have a thought outside of her kingdom and its well-being.

"I found something in the dungeons," Midna said brightly, giggling and stretching. "Something even _you_ might like, Your Royal Grumpiness," she teased, flitting around to dodge Zelda's hand as she swatted again. At the mention of something she might like, Zelda turned cool blue eyes onto Midna. Excellent. The princess _did_ have a heart. Midna had figured that was still up for debate since she was all cool logic.

"What did you find?" Zelda asked, tone less harsh than it usually was with Midna. She'd moved up from "harsh" to "slightly annoyed" on the Midna Scale of Zelda Moods. That was a good sign, at least, and Midna stopped floating and settled on a small bedside table. She stalled for time, picking up a book that Zelda had been reading. She blew off the dust, making a face at the title.

"The Complete History of Hyrule and Neighbouring Kingdoms? Are you trying to kill yourself with boredom, Zelda?" Midna asked, eliciting an annoyed glance from the princess and the book was snatched away. Midna chuckled, settling on the edge of the table and crossing her legs (she insisted they were legs, no matter that they weren't the long, elegant legs she used to have).

"What is it? What have you found in the dungeons?" Midna laughed at her insistence. Really, the princess could be _so_ single-minded at times. Save the kingdom, eliminate the Twilight threat and what was in the dungeons. Completely uninterested in small talk, that one. Midna decided that she'd stalled enough and stretched, schooling her voice into a casual tone.

"I found a blue-eyed beast. A wolf, to be exact. And, since he's sporting Hylian jewelry, I figured he _used_ to be a Hylian, just like you," she said, watching Zelda's face for a response. Her face was still cool and composed, yes, but a little color came to her cheeks and her eyes brightened. Good. The princess still had hope, believe it or not. Midna figured that was good, if she ever wanted to overcome Zant and the Twilight.

"He must have been strong if he was not transmuted into a spirit in this realm," Zelda mused, making Midna laugh yet again. Zelda could be unintentionally amusing with how _serious_ she was. Midna tried to imagine the straight-laced princess stripping down and swimming in a stream or riding bareback on a horse and couldn't. It just wasn't in her perceptions of Zelda to imagine her as anything other than the stoic and withdrawn princess of Hyrule. She had no other role.

"Yeah, a strong one. I was going to go break him out and play a little," she said, stretching and gauging Zelda for her response to this particular revelation. Zelda nodded, clearly pleased. She apparently put a lot of stock in the idea that he was some sort of hero come to save them all. Midna was fine with heroics as long as she got what she was after: she needed his help to find the Fused Shadows. If he wanted to do some stuff on the side, that was his prerogative. Just as long as she got what she wanted.

Midna giggled again, making her way down the stairs in the castle in order to find the cell with the wolf again. She had the sense that she'd be laughing a lot more over the next few weeks. She just hoped that she'd be able to genuinely laugh again: not a giggle and not a chortle, but a true laugh with no agenda outside of pleasure and happiness. It'd be nice. For now, however, she'd giggle and bear it. Maybe she was a little less graceful looking than Zelda, but she was a heck of a lot more approachable.

Not to mention the sense of humor. Zelda really did need to lighten up.


End file.
